THIS INVENTION relates to a device for the treatment of erectile dysfunction or for penile exercise in the human male. It also relates to a method of treatment of erectile dysfunction and to a method of penile exercise. It further relates to a pump device and to a sealing constriction ring.
A problem that occasionally occurs in human male s is the inability to attain an erection of the penis.
One manner which has been used to alleviate this problem is by subjecting the penis to a negative pressure thereby inducing blood to flow into the erectile tissue of the penis and cause an erection. In order to retain the blood in the erected penis, a constriction ring is used to inhibit the flow of blood from the erect penis and thereby retain the erection of the penis. Various vacuum devices have been proposed which operate in this fashion, Inter alia, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,213,563, 6,095,895, 5,421,808, 4,602,625 and CH 3473007.
It will be appreciated; that a device in accordance with the invention is normally used in an intimate situation. A major disadvantage with the prior art devices is that they are cumbersome and fairly time consuming to use which is not ideal in an intimate situation.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a device which may be used particularly but not necessarily exclusively in the treatment of erectile dysfunction and for penile exercise, and which is not unwieldy or cumbersome when used in intimate situations.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a device for the treatment of erectile dysfunction or for penile exercise which includes:
a vessel defining a vacuum chamber and having a mouth opening leading into the vacuum chamber, the vacuum chamber being shaped and dimensioned to receive a human penis; and
pumping means, at least part of which is mounted for reciprocation relative to the vessel, for pumping air out of the vacuum chamber.
The device may include seal means positioned in the vicinity of the mouth opening and configured sealingly to engage with an outer surface of a human penis inserted into the vacuum chamber.
The pumping means may include:
a pumping member, mounted on and slidingly displaceable relative to the vessel, the vessel and pumping member being shaped and configured so that the vessel and the pumping member together form a suction chamber and so that sliding displacement of the pumping member and the vessel relative to one another changes the volume of the suction chamber;
at least one pumping passage extending between the vacuum chamber and the suction chamber;
at least one exhaust passage leading from the suction chamber;
first one way valve means which permits fluid flow from the vacuum chamber to the suction chamber via the, or each, pumping passage; and
second one way valve means which permits fluid to be discharged from the suction chamber via the or each exhaust passage to atmosphere.
The vessel may have an outer surface which is substantially cylindrical for at least part of its length, the pumping member extending around the cylindrical portion of the outer surface of the vessel and being longitudinally slidingly displaceable relative thereto.
The or each pumping passage may be positioned and the pumping member may be arranged so that displacement of the pumping member towards the mouth of the vessel increases the volume of the suction chamber and causes air to flow from the vacuum chamber through the or each pumping passage into the suction chamber and displacement of the pumping member away from the mouth of the vessel decreases the volume of the suction chamber and causes air to be discharged from the suction chamber through the exhaust passage to atmosphere.
As the vacuum drawn in the vacuum chamber increases it becomes more difficult to draw air out of the vacuum and the effort required to displace the pumping member in the direction required to increase the volume of the suction chamber increases. By arranging the pumping means such that the volume of the pumping chamber increases when the pumping member is displaced towards the mouth of the vessel the primary loads applied to the device, in use, are towards a user""s body which helps to minimize any discomfort the user may experience.
The pumping vessel may have a cylindrical wall and the or each pumping passage may extend through the wall and have a mouth opening into the suction chamber, the first one way valve means being in the form of at least one elastically deformable band extending around the cylindrical wall to cover the or each mouth.
The second one way valve means may include an O-ring configured to provide an air tight seal between the pumping member and the vessel when being displaced relative to one another to increase the volume of the pumping chamber and to permit air to be discharged through the at least one exhaust passage when the pumping member and the vessel are being displaced relative to one another to decrease the volume of the pumping chamber.
In order to ensure the safe operation of the device it is desirable that the pressure in the vacuum chamber not decrease below a predetermined minimum pressure, typically of the order of xe2x88x920.57 bar. However, the Inventor believes that a vacuum of xe2x88x920.4 bar will work satisfactorily.
Accordingly, the device may include vacuum restriction means for restricting the vacuum which can be drawn in the vacuum chamber.
The vacuum restriction means may include a stroke limiting member positioned in the suction chamber to restrict the stroke through which the pumping member is displaceable relative to the vessel.
The seal means may include a sealing constriction ring which is readily dismountably mounted on the vessel in the vicinity of the mouth opening, the constriction ring including a generally ring-shaped body having a circumferentially extending engagement formation for releasable sealing engagement with the vessel in the vicinity of the mouth opening and a constriction ring opening configured sealingly to abut against the outer surface of a human penis.
The body of the constriction ring may be formed of a unitary moulding of an elastomeric material. In one embodiment of the invention the elastomeric material may be a silicone rubber and have a hardness of 50 A Shore.
The size of the constriction ring opening will depend on the intended application. Hence, where intended for use in the treatment of erectile dysfunction the opening will be sufficiently small to inhibit blood flow from the penis once an erection is attained in order to maintain the erection. In contrast, when the device is intended to be used for penile exercise the opening will be sufficiently small to seal against a surface of the penis and sufficiently large to permit blood to drain from the erect penis.
The constriction ring opening may have a diameter of between 13 and 24 mm.
The device may include a plurality of interchangeable sealing constriction rings each having a constriction ring opening of a different size.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of treating erectile dysfunction in the human male, which includes the steps of
drawing a penis through a sealing constriction ring which is releasably mounted on a vessel into a vacuum chamber defined in the vessel by pumping air out of the vacuum chamber to draw the penis through the ring into the vacuum chamber and to cause an erection of the penis in the vacuum chamber; and
disconnecting the sealing constriction ring from the vessel and removing the erect penis with the sealing constriction ring thereon from the vessel, the sealing constriction ring having a constriction ring opening which is small enough to constrict blood flow from the erect penis, thereby maintaining the erection.
Pumping air out of the vacuum chamber may include displacing a pumping member which is mounted on and displaceable relative to the vessel.
According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of penile exercise, which includes the steps of
drawing the penis through a sealing constriction ring which is mounted on a vessel into a vacuum chamber defined in the vessel by pumping air out of the vacuum chamber by reciprocal displacement of a pumping member mounted on the vessel thereby to draw the penis through the ring into the vacuum chamber and to cause an erection of the penis in the vacuum chamber; and
relieving the vacuum around the penis to permit blood to drain from the erect penis thereby relaxing the erection, the sealing constriction ring having an opening which is small enough to engage sealingly around the penis and large enough to permit blood to drain from the erect penis when the vacuum is relieved.
Relieving the vacuum may include breaking the seal between the sealing constriction ring and the vessel.
The Inventor believes the invention may find application in other pump devices.
Hence, according to still yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a pump device which includes
a vessel defining a primary chamber;
a pumping member mounted on the vessel for reciprocation relative to the vessel, the pumping member and the vessel defining between them a secondary chamber, the volume of which changes when the pumping member is displaced relative to the vessel; and
valve means whereby the primary chamber and the secondary chamber are selectively connectable in flow communication and whereby the secondary chamber is selectively connectable in flow communication with atmosphere.
The secondary chamber may be an annular chamber which extends around the vessel, the valve means including first one way valve means configured to connect the primary chamber in flow communication with the secondary chamber when the pumping member is displaced in a direction which increases the volume of the secondary chamber and second one way valve means configured to connect the secondary chamber in flow communication with atmosphere when the pumping member is displaced in the opposite direction. Reciprocation of the pumping member will thus cause the pressure inside the primary chamber to be reduced incrementally.
Hence, the pump device will function as a vacuum pump to draw a vacuum in the primary chamber.
The vessel may have an outer surface which is cylindrical for at least part of its length and the pumping member may be an at least partly cylindrical member which extends around at least part of the cylindrical surface of the vessel and which is longitudinally slidingly displaceable relative to the vessel.
Preferably the pumping member is a sleeve which encircles the cylindrical vessel for at least part of its length.
The invention extends to a constriction ring for use on a device as described above.
More particularly, the invention extends to a sealing constriction ring for use with a device including a vessel defining a vacuum chamber and having a mouth opening as hereinbefore described, the constriction ring comprising a generally ring-shaped body having a circumferentially extending engagement formation for releasable, sealing engagement with the opening and a constriction ring opening shaped and configured to sealingly engage with the outer surface of a zone around a human penis.
According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a sealing constriction ring which includes a body of an elastomeric material, the body having
a tubular central portion defining a constriction ring opening, a radially inner surface of the central portion forming a penis contacting surface for contacting an outer surface of a penis extending through the constriction ring opening in an air tight manner;
a ring shaped formation which is positioned outwardly of the central portion and which defines a radially inwardly directed annular surface whereby the sealing constriction ring is mountable on a vessel defining a vacuum chamber; and
an annular connecting web connecting the central portion and the ring-shaped formation together.
The constriction ring opening may have a diameter of about 13 to 24 mm. Thus depending upon the diameter of the constriction ring opening and the diameter of the erect penis, the sealing constriction ring may provide a relatively air-tight seal around the penis and constrict blood flow from the penis or merely provide a relatively air-tight seal.